PlantsMap

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5 plants worth knowing

Uganda

Uganda, which Churchill called the “Pearl of Africa”, lies on a plateau between the arms of the Great Rift Valley, on the shores of Lake Victoria and at the source of the Nile. The mild, humid climate favours lush greenery: the rainforests of Bwindi and Kibale grow in the south and west, vast papyrus swamps surround the lakes, savannas dominate the north, and on the border with Congo rise the snow-capped Mountains of the Moon – the Rwenzori.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

plants in our catalogue; native and endemic according to WCVP (Kew) · source
  1. Robusta coffee 1

    shrub

    native

    Robusta coffee

    Coffea canephora

    Robusta is at home in Uganda – it grows wild in the forests around Lake Victoria, and the country is its largest exporter in Africa.
  2. Banana 2

    crop

    cultivated

    Banana

    Musa acuminata

    Green matoke bananas, steamed in banana leaves, are simply “food” in Uganda – the symbol of a home-cooked meal.
  3. Natal fig 3

    tree · Mutuba barkcloth – a UNESCO Masterpiece of intangible heritage

    native

    Natal fig

    Ficus natalensis

    For centuries the bark of this fig has been made into barkcloth in Buganda – a craft on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list.
  4. Papyrus 4

    aquatic plant

    native

    Papyrus

    Cyperus papyrus

    The same papyrus the Egyptians made paper from – in Uganda it forms huge swamps around Lakes Victoria and Kyoga.
  5. Dendrosenecio adnivalis 5

    perennial

    native

    Dendrosenecio adnivalis

    Dendrosenecio adnivalis

    Fairy-tale “trees” of moss and mist in the Mountains of the Moon – the giant groundsels of the Rwenzori can be twice as tall as a person.